Shahini: Civil Code one of the conditions for Growth Plan

President of the Kosovo Business Alliance Agim Shahini told Kosovo Online that the Civil Code is one of the pieces of legislation that must be adopted for Pristina to receive EU funding under the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.

As he explained, the Civil Code is one of several laws that must be adopted by the Kosovo Assembly in order to meet the criteria for receiving the funds.

“The European Union has allocated several hundred million euros in assistance to each of the Western Balkan countries under the Growth Plan. Kosovo has around €882 million available. So far, we have received slightly less than €60 million, but we are now in a situation where we could lose another €135 million by the end of the year because, in order to receive those funds, we have to meet several criteria, one of which is the adoption of the Civil Code,” Shahini said.

He recalled that Kosovo had recently lost €45 million under the Growth Plan because it was required to meet 13 criteria, but had fulfilled only seven.

“Of the entire package earmarked for Kosovo, totaling €882 million, we have so far received only seven percent. We still have another 111 criteria to meet. If the Government continues working at this pace, we will lose all of those funds. That money will most likely be redistributed to the other countries that meet the criteria. According to the data, Albania, Serbia and Montenegro are receiving the most. North Macedonia has also made considerable progress, while the situation is worst in Kosovo and Bosnia,” Shahini explained.

Nevertheless, he said the situation was not straightforward because the Civil Code was highly contentious within society, given that, in his view, it was quite progressive for the prevailing attitudes in Balkan countries.

“It is still something new and innovative for Balkan countries, something citizens are not accustomed to. However, such laws have been adopted in several European Union countries. Certain things certainly need to change, but gradually. We still do not know exactly what will happen with this law,” Shahini said.

He agreed that one of the reasons the Civil Code had been delayed for so long in Kosovo could be MPs’ fear of public criticism.

“Certainly, because we have a different mentality in the Balkans. We can also see what happens when pride parades are held in cities and what the reaction looks like. In some places, they are not permitted and are not welcome,” Shahini said.